In internal combustion engines that have a compressor in an air feed to the internal combustion engine to compress the air supplied to the internal combustion engine, both the pressure and the temperature in the air feed are higher downstream from the compressor than upstream from the compressor. For this reason an intercooler is utilized downstream from the compressor, which reverses a portion of the temperature increase. Nevertheless, the temperature in the combustion chamber is still higher, and there is an increased knocking tendency. A knock control removes knocking by retarding the ignition. This lowers the efficiency and simultaneously increases the exhaust gas temperature. Counter measures are then provided, which reduce the knock tendency and lower the exhaust gas temperature to permissible values by enriching the air/fuel mixture and lowering the charge.